[Gary]

This is one of those projects where nothing goes smoothly. This 1975 Manta with a 2.5 with a 1.9 head has been fighting me for a couple of years now.
It is up to the point where I was installing the radiator and here's what I ran into.
@samdog

 

[Gary]

I could not locate a clutch fan for the 2.4 water pump so I went electric. A 12-inch one did not clear the water pump so I ordered 2, 7-inch ones. As I was putting the radiator in, I noticed there were 2 small hose outlets on the water pump. Out came the radiator and the pump was replaced with a 1.9 one.

 

[The Scifi Guy]

I also bought two 7" fans to put on the engine side of the radiator, so that I could go engine fan-less. I also bought a 12" one to put on the front of the radiator. I like lots of cooling. GT, of course.

I guess there's no room for a front fan on a Manta?

 

[Gary]

Now, the aluminum radiator has 1 1/2 inch outlets (Stock is 1 1/4") so custom hoses were needed. Going through the hose section at my local Autozone, I found one that fit the lower hose requirements. Continental # 81391 was the right length and had the correct end sizes.

 

[Gary]

The upper hose was a different animal. The filler needed to be added to the hose. 2, 71011 hoses fit the bill. Autozone had one in stock so another was ordered. When it came in the hose was different even though the part numbers were the same. Off to Advance Auto for the other...
Coils were added to the insides to help prevent the hose from collapsing at the right angles.

 

[Gary]

The owner has gone back and forth between FI and carb more times than I can count. The fuel tank has a built-in high-pressure pump. I went with a dual-pressure regulator with a return line. The current plan is to get it going with a carb then go with a Sniper setup later.

The heater box assembly is next. Of course, the fan and motor are nowhere to be seen...

 

[Gary]

I also bought two 7" fans to put on the engine side of the radiator, so that I could go engine fan-less. I also bought a 12" one to put on the front of the radiator. I like lots of cooling. GT, of course.

I guess there's no room for a front fan on a Manta?

There is, but I'd rather have a puller than a pusher. I have the duals on my wagon set up with separate controllers. The second fan kicks in if needed.

 

[Gary]

Murphy's law: "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong."

Look what I ran across today after spending hours yesterday tracking down radiator hoses.

 

[samdog]

This is great. You are doing an amazing job!!

 

[Gary]

It's wiring and electrical systems time!
While tracing the start circuit, I noticed an intermittent signal and found the switch contacts were carboned up from arcing. I made a thread showing the contacts condition and the need to add a relay to this circuit to protect the ignition switch. I repaired the switch and added the relay.

The battery is now in the truck so it opened up the battery box area to add two fuse boxes to handle any new additions. One fuse box has 12 volts all the time and the other is switched. The "hot" one also has a ground section so all the grounds for the added circuits now have a common ground location.
The start, ignition, and fuel pump circuits are done along with a ground wire going from the block and alternator to the old battery box area. The wiring will be enclosed once the fan wiring is done
This car was once fuel injected so there are several wires that need to be traced to see if they can be removed. It does not appear to have had the Rallye Gauge pack in it.

Next up is the charging circuit for the one-wire alternator and then the dash wiring (which should be interesting).

 

[samdog]

Hey Gary, You know that it always takes longer to do it right and even longer to make it look great!

 

[Gary]

Did some work on the interior and made a removable box for the shifter. This way it can be easily accessed and removed if needed for trans/engine removal.

 

[The Scifi Guy]

Your home made shifter box gets the.....

 

[Gary]

Makes changing the oil in a Getrag much easier.

 

[Gary]

And now this...

This car is getting very close to being next Winters project (again).

 

[samdog]

It looks great...and almost road worthy!

 

[Nitromancer]

Thanks for posting this, very interesting and I can empathize with the struggle.
Looks like it’ll be drivable with carbs hopefully soon.
Just in case you haven’t seen the intake being designed and developed by Charles Goin you should consider that for EFI.